For the Love of the Dog Demon
by Suzanne Cross
Summary: It's been a few months since the death of Naraku and since he'd left Rin at the old priestess's village. And without a goal in mind, Sesshomaru now wanders the countryside battling any demon who is rumored to possess power. But what will happen when Sesshomaru, the great dog demon who is known for his hatred of humans, meets a human woman who he finds himself unwillingly drawn to?
1. Chapter 1

"Erm...'Tis a beautiful day. Isn't it, milord?"

Sesshomaru spared a glance down at the imp who struggled to keep up with his long gait. He'd been content with the  
silence they'd been traveling in, Jaken's attempt at small talk was the last thing he wanted.

He only grunted in reply to his underling.

Jaken scratched his head with one of his claws. The endless silence was killing him, and every attempt he made to  
start a conversation was shot down by his lord.

The little green demon inwardly sighed, he thought he'd never see the day where he actually missed Rin. The human  
child may have been a constant pain in his behind, but it was never deathly quiet when she was around.

He shot a quick glance up at Lord Sesshomaru, quickly looking back forward before he was caught. It had been a few  
months since Lord Sesshomaru had sent Rin to live in the human village where Inuyasha and his companions called  
home. Ever since, things had seemed a little dull.

"Lord Sesshomaru, where are we headed anyway?" Jaken asked not for the first time on their most recent journey.  
The little demon didn't really expect an answer, since he handn't recieved one the last couple of times he'd asked  
the same question.

Surprisingly, he got one this time. "Towards the East. Rumors say there is a pair of Ogres that have gotten their  
filthy hands on demonic swords. Others say they're quite powerful."

"So, you're going to test their strength, milord?" Jaken questioned.

Sesshomaru's only reply was a brief nod.

Since the death of Naraku those short months ago, that's all they've been doing. In Jaken's opinion, that he  
wouldn't dare share with his master, this quest to hunt down supposedly strong demons was growing tiring. As strong  
as the demons were, they were no match for his Lord Sesshomaru and they were easily dispatched by his blade.

Lord Sesshomaru was looking for a challenge, the imp knew. But he didn't think his master would ever find such a  
demon that could possibly withstand the awesome might of his lord.

"Um, My Lord? If it isn't too much to ask, but may I ask what you plan to do once you defeat these ogres?"

He recieved no response, Sesshomaru kept on walking.

Jaken let out an eep and directly fell to his knees, dropping Ah-Un's reins from his hands, and put his face into the dirt, "Please excuse me, Lord  
Sesshomaru!" He groveled, "This lowly worm had no right to ask such a thing of you!"

Sweat started nervously pouring off Jaken's green skin in waves when Sesshomaru suddenly halted in his steps.

"Jaken," Sesshomaru started.

"Y-yes?!"

"Be quite."

"...yes, Milord."

The pair of demons continued on their journey in silence. Jaken didn't ask Sesshomaru any more questions.

Hours later, the pair came to a cave at the base of a mountain.

Clutching at his staff of two heads, Jaken looked up at his lord and asked his first question in hours, "Is this where the orge brothers reside?"

Sesshomaru inclined his head a fraction of an inch, which was meant as a yes.

Jaken gulped nervously as he eyed the eerily darkness of the mouth of the cave.

"Jaken," Sesshomaru's voice startled the imp.

"Yes, milord?"

Sesshomaru drew his sword Tokijin before he replied to his underling, "Wait here."

"But, Milord! There are two of them, wha if you should become outnumbered?"

The dog demon's emotionless amber eyes slid towards his companion.

Uh-oh, Jaken thought frantically as he attempted to fix the error in his words. "Not that I think that you couldn't handle yourself against those lowly  
ogres, Lord Sesshomaru. Of course you can slay those two weaklings easily. He he."

With a last long look at the green imp, Sesshomaru turned and walked calmyly into the dark mouth of the cave without looking back.

Jaken sighed with both anxiety and a bit of relief. He padded over to a nearby rock with the two-headed dragon and sat down to wait for his lord to return.


	2. Chapter 2

As Sesshomaru stalked through the darkness, he listened carefully for any slight sound. Reaching across his body, he slid Tokijin silently out of its sheath.

To be honest, he could probably kill both ogres with only his claws. But since the ogres were supposed to have demon swords, it would be wise to proceed with  
caution.

Raising his nose to the dark ceiling, he took a deep whiff of the air. They were here all right, the ogres' stench clouded the air.

"Who has entered our domain?" a gravelly voice echoed within the blackness.

Sesshomaru halted in his steps and addressed the voice, "Brothers Maou and Masuru, I have come for your heads."

Two wicked laughs filled the void, "Did you hear that brother? This lowly worm seeks our heads."

"I heard him, brother. What shall we do? Should we kill him quickly or devour him slowly while he screams for mercy?"

The voices seemed to be coming closer, "Ooh, your second suggestion sounds most delightful, brother! Let's slay this demon and feast on his flesh!"

sensing a presence behind him, Sesshomaru quickly jumped high into the air, landing several feet away. A giant ogre, nearly nine feet tall had a large  
sword embedded in the rock where Sesshomaru had just been standing.

Baring many pointed teeth, the ogre pulled his sword free and held it out in front of him at attention, "Hold still, this won't hurt a bit."

Where was the other one? The Dog demon wondered as he tried to see the other ogre while keeping his attention locked on the one if front of him. It would be easier to kill the ogre in front of him first, then turn his attention solely on the its brother. Raising Tokijin, Sesshomaru dashed at the red ogre in an attack.

Just as Tokijin was about to slice across the ogre's fat neck, the demon sword was blocked as the sound of swords clashing rang throughout the cavern.

Sesshomaru was now a mere inches from the ogre's face. The ogre's yellow eyes narrowed as he studied Sesshomaru closely for the first time. "You wouldn't happen to be the Lord Sesshomaru, would you? The son of the great dog demon of the west?"

When Sesshomaru remained silent, the ogre smiled cockily, "You are. With your death on our hands and your flesh in our bellies, we will be the strongest and most feared demons in the region."

He frowned when Sesshomaru chuckled darkly, "You, kill me? That's ridiculous." In a move quicker than the human eye could follow, Sesshomaru ducked and pivoted out of the demon's line of site. He brought up his sword and easily sliced off the ogre's arm that had been holding the sword.

The ogre roared in pain as he clutched at the place where his arm had just been. He then turned to Sesshomaru with a feral gleam in his eye, "I'm going to kill you slowly and bask in the soothing sounds of your screams.

"Hmph, don't make me laugh. You're finished." Sesshomaru's claws started glowing a brilliant green and he muttered, "Die." With a flick of his wrist, Sesshomaru's venomous whip took the red ogre's head clean off its shoulders, where it landed a few feet away with a wet thump.

A mournful howl shuddered the walls of the cave, "You slew my brother!

On alert, Sesshomaru searched the darkness for any sign of the other ogre, but could see nothing. As a matter of fact he could neither hear nor sense anything. It was if the ogre was made out of air.

Something pricked at his senses and Sesshomaru whirled around, but he was too late. The blade of the second ogre's sword fell to embed itself in Sesshomaru's shoulder.

Before the ogre could push down on the shoulder and slice him in half, Sesshomaru darted backwards, pulling the bloody sword from the deep gash it had left in his shoulder.

Sesshomaru winced at the deep, screaming pain, but he didn't utter a groan. He didn't have time to fret over a mere flesh wound.

With his arm hanging limply at his side, blood steadily dripping down his arm, Sesshomaru straightened to face his opponent. He may not be able to use his right arm, but at least it wasn't his sword arm.

This ogre was at least another foot taller than its brother, and green instead of red. Its bulging red eyes were fastened on Sesshomaru with deadly intent.

It's strange, Sesshomaru thought, that he couldn't sense the demon's demonic aura. That was the only reason it had gotten close enough to wound him.

"What is the matter? You look confused, little worm. Could it be that you are wondering why you sense no demonic aura from me?" He paused as if to let Sesshomaru answer, but continued when there was nothing but silence. "This sword," he said as he lifted it, "cloaks my aura."

So that was it, Sesshomaru thought, but with the element of surprise gone and with the demon before him now. The fact that his aura is cloaked didn't matter anymore.

He was losing too much blood from his wound, he thought as he glanced down at his shoulder. He needed to end this quick before he fell unconscious.

And he knew just the way to do it.

Sesshomaru lifted his sword so that it was held horizontally in front of him and closed his eyes.

"What do you think you're doing? Are you surrendering to your fate, since you are wounded?" With a salivating grin, the demon raised his sword and charged at Sesshomaru, "Then I shall grant your wish!"

"Dragon Strike."

The cave filled with blue lightening as it erupted from the Tokijin and enveloped the ogre in a blue cocoon. The ogre screamed as he was torn to shreds by the lightening as if it were blades.

Just as suddenly as it appeared, the lightning was gone, as was the ogre. All that was left was a puddle of blood and his sword.

With a satisfied nod, Sesshomaru turned and started making his way towards the exit, leaving a trail of his own blood behind him.

Just before he stepped out of the cave, Sesshomaru turned himself into a glowing ball and zipped out of the cavern and into the sky. Jaken was annoying whenever he became injured. He would go and find somewhere where he could heal from his injury in peace.

Jaken watched, open-mouthed as the orb that was his master zoomed away into the darkening sky. "Lord Sesshomaru! Where are you going?!"

With a worried glance into the darkness of the cave, Jaken hurried off in the direction the orb had disappeared, determined to find his master.


End file.
